Many parrot species are declining in Brazil, falling victim to trade, human-wildlife conflicts and unchecked forest clearance.

Lins Ecological Farm is located in southeast Brazil. Farm owner and heart of the project Ivan Tadeu is a neurosurgeon who has dedicated his spare time to helping toucans, songbirds, macaws and the Amazons from central Brazil. Thanks to his rehabilitation program and a project to restore natural vegetation and trees to the property the released parrots are using the farm’s protected trees as roosting and breeding sites.

The WPT’s partnership with Lins began in 2020 when the centre received a large confiscation of Blue-fronted Amazon (Amazona aestiva) chicks of varying ages, and a single Red-and-green Macaw (Ara chloropterus) chick, all in critical condition. The team cared for one hundred and thirty birds in total, with two groups eventually habituated to their surroundings and released; a third was sent to the nearby State of Mato Grosso do Sul to be part of a reintroduction program. In addition, more than 40 White-eyed Conures (Psittacara leucophthalmus) were released in February 2021, to which partner ASM Cambaquara contributed several individuals rehabilitated on Ilhabela.

In addition to rescuing native wildlife, Dr. Tadeu has invested in transplanting palms and trees to restore the farm to its original state to provide future resources for the released birds. The team has built an ecological corridor to link fragmented forest with drinking fountains and supplemental feeders. A private donor who is funding Blue-fronted Amazon conservation had one of these areas named “Bosque da Kiki” (Kiki’s Wood), in memory of a beloved companion parrot. Since its beginning, Lins has rehabilitated and released nearly 100 parrots and other bird species and has planted many hectares of new forest. Also crucial to the project is installing nest boxes, which the Blue-fronted Amazons readily use and raise chicks in.